The Asian Reporter'sBOOK REVIEWS

NEW YEAR PREPARATION. Bringing in the New Year follows a
Chinese-American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. Each
family member lends a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year,
hang decorations, make dumplings, and more.

From The Asian Reporter, V24, #02 (January 20, 2014), page 10.

Anticipation and celebration of the New Year

Bringing in the New Year

By Grace Lin

Dragonfly Books, 2008

Paperback, 34 pages, $7.99

By Josephine Bridges

The Asian Reporter

Is the New Year coming?" asks the young narrator on the very first
page of Grace Linís Bringing in the New Year, a story of a
Chinese-American familyís preparations for one of the most celebrated
holidays in the world. In the accompanying illustration, she stands with
her parents and sisters, looking out a window at flakes of snow swirling
in the wind. Her excitement is infectious, and even those of us who have
welcomed many New Years canít help but get caught up in it.

There is a lot to do to welcome the New Year, and the family gets
right to it: sweeping out the old year, hanging spring-happiness poems,
making get-rich dumplings, getting a haircut, and dressing up for the
New Year feast. "Now will the New Year come?"

Grace Lin increases the suspense with firecrackers popping and
shimmering outside a window. "Are they bringing in the New Year?" asks
the narrator. Not quite yet. The author has a few surprises in store,
and youíll discover them when you read Bringing in the New Year,
preferably with a child.

If you, like me, arenít ready for Bringing in the New Year to
end, youíll be pleased to see the two-page authorís note on its
background of green spirals. Here youíll find in-depth explanations of
the customs and traditions touched on briefly in the giddy narrative.

Hereís an example: "When a new dragon is used for a parade, it can be
Ďwoken upí by an eye-opening ceremony. This simple ceremony paints in
the eyes of the dragon so he can see the symbolic sun (the round shape
carried by the parade leader). The dragon chases the sun around and
around, ensuring that we will have many nights and days."

Bringing in the New Year can be seen as both a celebration of a
familiar festival and an introduction to that festival. Children ó and
adults ó well-acquainted with the festivities of the Lunar New Year will
find Grace Linís storybook a delightful reminder, and those who want to
learn more can begin their exploration here.